Durobrivae was a substantial Roman walled small town on Ermine Street where it crossed the River Nene, occupying roughly 18 hectares within its defences with extensive suburbs spreading south, east and west. Although a Flavian-period auxiliary fort (the Longthorpe vexillation fortress lies nearby, with a smaller successor fort at Water Newton) preceded civilian occupation, the site flourished from the late 2nd to the 4th century as the administrative and commercial centre of the Lower Nene Valley.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Durobrivae was the focal point of the Nene Valley pottery industry, one of the largest ceramic production zones in Roman Britain, producing the distinctive colour-coated "Castor ware" exported across the province and into the 4th-century military supply network. It is also significant for early Christianity in Britain: the Water Newton Treasure, found just outside the town in 1975, is the earliest known hoard of Christian liturgical silver from the Roman Empire.
Aerial photography and geophysical survey (notably the recent Durobrivae Project work) have revealed an exceptionally well-preserved street grid, stone town houses, temples, mansio, and dense suburban industrial activity including kilns and iron-working, though large-area excavation within the walled area has been limited. Finds include the Water Newton Christian silver, a separate hoard of 30 gold solidi, abundant Nene Valley colour-
Durobrivae was a substantial Roman walled small town on Ermine Street where it crossed the River Nene, occupying roughly 18 hectares within its defences with extensive suburbs spreading south, east and west. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
The fort and Roman walled town of Durobrivae and its south, west and east suburbs, immediately south and east of Water Newton Village is classified as a Roman fort — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Durobrivae (Water Newton) (0.7 km), Roman site in Normangate Field (1 km), Roman villa SW of Castor station (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around The fort and Roman walled town of Durobrivae and its south, west and east suburbs, immediately south and east of Water Newton Village